Shadowing Practice: Master the 'Tell Me About Yourself' Question with Confidence" - Learn English Speaking with Video

The Confident Voice Podcast.

Host, Jessica.

Episode, Master Lucky Tell Me About Yourself, Question, On Your Own Terms.

Performing Arts Part 1, The Intra Trap and the Golden Rule, Keep It Short.

Jessica, hello everyone, and welcome back to the Confident Voice podcast, the ultimate space where we break down complex English into simple,

actionable strategies to help you speak with absolute clarity and impact.

I'm Jessica.

Just this morning, a funny thing happened to me at the new bakery down the street.

I was waiting for my order when the barista looked straight at me, smiled, and dropped a massive question, "Bow, hey." You're new around here, aren't you?

Tell me a little about yourself.

Have you ever noticed how that one simple sentence can instantly make your mind go completely blank?

It happens to everyone, even native English speakers freeze up sometimes.

Whether you are at a casual neighborhood barbecue, starting your first day in an English class, or sitting across from a hiring manager in a tense job interview,

the phrase, tell me about yourself, always catches people off guard and makes them incredibly nervous.

That is exactly why we are mastering this topic today.

I want to share the absolute golden rule of introductions with you, keep it short.

Think of a conversation like a game of tennis.

Your goal is to hit the ball gently over the net so the other person can hit it back to you.

If you start talking from the day you were born, or spend 10 minutes describing your kindergarten days and your very first bicycle, you aren't playing tennis anymore,

you're just stealing the ball.

To keep the conversational ball moving naturally, we use a clean, 10 -second formula made of just three pieces, your identity, name -slash -location,

your daily drive, job -slash -studies, and your spark, a personal hobby.

Hammer and Wrench Part 2, The 3 -Step Formula for Casual Settings.

Let's look at the first piece, Identity.

A common point of confusion for English learners is the difference between "I am from" and "I live in".

Let's make it simple.

I am from as specifies your home country or hometown, your roots.

I live in as specifies the exact place where your bed is located right now.

For example, I could say, "I'm from Ohio, but I live in California now." It is simple, clear, and sets a natural foundation.

Next is your daily drive, what you do for work or school.

People naturally love to ask about how you spend your day.

But what if you don't have a job right now?

Don't worry about it at all.

Just keep your answer honest and forward -looking.

You can say, "Right now, I'm staying at home with my kids," or, "I am currently studying English full -time." It shows you are focused,

positive, and working hard on a meaningful goal.

The third piece is the spark, your hobby.

This is where your personality truly shines and your eyes light up.

And remember, your hobbies do not need to be complicated or dangerous to be interesting.

If you just like to relax, that counts.

You can simply say, in my free time, I love watching comedy movies on Netflix.

Using basic, clear vocabulary is always better than trying to sound complex.

If the other person loves comedies too, you've just built an instant connection.

Part 3, Turning the Formula Professional, Job Interviews.

Now, let's pivot to a completely different environment.

What happens when the room gets quiet, the atmosphere gets tense, and an interviewer looks at you and says, tell me about yourself.

Obviously, we need to leave the stories about pizza, dogs, and Netflix at the door.

The three -step structure actually stays exactly the same, but we make one key adjustment: we remove the personal hobby and replace it with a core professional skill or career passion.

You want to show the company exactly why you are a highly valuable asset to their team.

Listen to how smooth and professional this interview template sounds.

Hi, I'm Jessica.

I have five years of experience in sales, and I specialize in solving complex problems for customers.

I am incredibly passionate about client relations, and I am excited to grow my career with your company.

Notice how sharp that is?

It takes less than 15 seconds, sounds completely confident, and bridges your past experience directly to their future goals.

It's all about matching your answer to the specific room you are standing in.

Know your audience.

Part 4, Connection Over Perfection and the Power of Contractions I also want to touch on the psychological side of speaking.

So many students stall their own progress because they are terrified of making a minor grammar mistake.

Let me reassure you right now, the sky will not fall down because of a wrong preposition.

Perfection is never the goal, connection is the goal.

If I can understand your heart and your message, you have won the conversation, However, if you want to sound polished,

watch out for one massive direct translation trap regarding age.

Many learners say, "I have 25 years," because that is how it is structured in their native language.

But in English, we always use the verb to be, I am 25 years old, or simply, I'm 25.

You aren't physically holding the years in your hands, you are the age.

Another incredible trick to make your English sound natural is using contractions.

If you avoid contractions, you risk sounding like a stiff robot.

For instance, saying, "I am Jessica." I do not like sports, feels incredibly cold and formal.

But if you soften the language using contractions, I'm Jessica, and I don't really play sports, you instantly sound warm, approachable, and human.

mid -show challenge and the AI practice room.

Before I sign off today, I want to hear from you because I genuinely care about the global family listening to this show.

I don't want to just hold the conversational tennis ball all by myself.

So, we have a live challenge in the comments section below.

I want you to write a short comment introducing yourself using our three -step formula, your name, your job or study, and one thing you love to do.

I promise to read your responses.

If you are enjoying this episode, please hit that subscribe button, like the video, and share it with a friend who is working hard on their English goals.

It helps this channel grow so much.

And if you want a private, completely safe space to practice your introduction out loud without any social anxiety or fear of judgment,

make sure to click the link in the video description below to try the Confident Voice AI Mentor.

It's like having a smart language assistant in your pocket that helps you polish your sentences until they sound 100 % natural.

Thank you so much for hanging out with me today.

Keep practicing, keep smiling, and above all, have fun with your language journey.

You've got this.

See you in the next episode.

Bye.

Bye, everyone.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 87 sentences and 1174 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:56. The speaker talks at a steady 148 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

formula /ˈfɔː.mjʊ.lə/ (noun) — Any mathematical rule expressed symbolically.
hobby /ˈhɑ.bi/ (noun) — An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time.
incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/ (adverb) — In an incredible manner; not to be believed.
tennis /ˈtɛnɪs/ (noun) — A sport played by two players (or four in doubles), who alternately strike the ball over a net using racquets.
naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ (adverb) — In a natural manner.
trap /tɹæp/ (noun) — A machine or other device designed to catch (and sometimes kill) animals, either by holding them in a container, or by catching hold of part of the body.
polish /ˈpɑ.lɪʃ/ (verb) — To shine; to make a surface very smooth or shiny by rubbing, cleaning, or grinding.
casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/ (adjective) — Happening by chance.
instantly /ˈɪnstəntli/ (adverb) — At once; without delay.
podcast /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ (noun) — A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on…
spark /ˈspɑɹk/ (noun) — A small particle of glowing matter, either molten or on fire, resulting from an electrical surge or excessive heat created by friction.
tense /tɛns/ (noun) — The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists.
specify /ˈspɛs.əˌfaɪ/ (verb) — To state explicitly, or in detail, or as a condition.
topic /ˈtɑpɪk/ (noun) — A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest.
pocket /ˈpɑ.kɪt/ (noun) — A bag stitched to an item of clothing, used for carrying small items.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

live in (verb) — To reside on the premises of one's employer (used especially of domestic staff such as nannies, cooks, maids, etc.)
look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
break down (verb) — To stop functioning.
do for (verb) — To doom; to bring about the demise of someone; to injure or harm someone.
fall down /fɔl ˈdaʊn/ (verb) — To fall to the ground. To collapse.
hear from (verb) — To receive updates or opinions from (someone).
light up (verb) — To illuminate, to bring light to something, to brighten.
sign off (verb) — To log off; to stop using a computer, radio, etc.; especially, to stop talking.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 17 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, aren't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: polish /ˈpɑ.lɪʃ/, casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, sharp /ʃɑɹp/, passion /ˈpæʃən/, translation /tɹænzˈleɪʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, anxiety /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/, psychological /ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɑː.d͡ʒɪ.kl̩/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like formula, hobby, incredibly.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	were born · is located · are terrified
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	Have you ever noticed · you've just built · have won
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form	start talking · love watching · Keep practicing
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now	are mastering · aren't playing · you're just stealing

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →